Coca Cola Marketing Campaign

Introduction

The following report would highlight on how the Coca cola Company would market its brand during the London Olympic Games of 2012 .The report thoroughly examines the strategies Coca Cola would use to achieve its marketing objectives using appropriate theories & models relating to the subject area .

This will provide an ideal launch pad for the Coca Cola entity to significantly enhance its brand value by being appointed a official sponsor to the event. Hence it will be able to drive shareholder value by pursuing the marketing strategies mentioned in the report & develop a sustainable competitive advantage .

Analysis of Task 1

Coca Cola is the global Leader in the non alcoholic beverage industry which produces soft drinks, fruit juices sports drinks which are marketed through over 400 brands & the following definitions of marketing can be used to identify the role of Coca Cola UK build up consumer awareness over their products. For this purpose following definitions of marketing are used.

Definition 1

“The management process that identifies, anticipate and supplies consumer requirements efficiently & profitably.”

(Chartered Institute of Marketing)

Definition 2

“Marketing is the social process by which individuals & groups obtain what they need & want through creating and exchanging products & value with others.”

(Philip Kilter)

Definition 3

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing promotion & distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual.

Comparison of the above definition explains that in each discusses about a process which in detail can be associated with the attitude of the business towards marketing or marketing orientation.

In detail this can be categorized as

Marketing Audit (Consisting of Marketing Analysis, Marketing Segmentation, and Marketing Strategy)

Marketing Research (Consisting of Quantitative Analysis, Qualitative Analysis & Consumer Tests.)

Marketing Mix (Consist of 4P’s Product, Price, Place, promotion)

Based on the summary of the key elements marketing & it’s relationship & the definitions of above it can be clearly identified that each of the definitions mentioned in the report are closely related to the key elements .Hence it can be told that even though the definitions are worded differently the message that each definition explains is similar.

However it can be mentioned that Definition 2 & 3 provide more broad based definitions for marketing when compared with the first definition.

Main Characteristics of a Marketing Oriented Organization

High degree of business awareness

This would be through high level of contact with customers where the organization understands the needs & the wants of the customers & always try to stand ahead of competitors by understanding customer needs better .

High Level of branding

Branding would create a high level of consciousness among the target group of consumers which a particular organization caters to & would create a significant edge over the other products may not have a significant brand value.

E.G :- Nokia ,Coca Cola ,Nike

Continuous Innovation

An organization which is highly marketing oriented will continuously try to innovate & develop new products & services to its consumers .

E.G- Microsoft, Samsung

B) A Sponsorship of the event would enable the organization to become a marketing oriented organization to as the above mentioned main characteristics (Refer Answer A) can be seen in the event of a sponsorship of a mega event such as the Olympics .Further this is a part & parcel of the promotion element in the marketing mix which further justify such a sponsorship as a marketing tool.

C) Key Elements & Relationships of Marketing (Refer Answer A)

Marketing Audit (Analyze the current position & Opportunities)

Market Analysis

This involves closely monitoring the market .In a situation such as this it is important to identify the size of the target market, Probable growth of sales revenue customer base .It will also facilitate the evaluation of cost & benefit of various marketing methods used by Coca Coca .Further in-depth analysis can be carried out to identify the % increase in the market share for each individual product category of Coca-|Cola

E.G:- Additional market share which can gain By Coke, Fanta, Sprite through the 2012 Olympic Games marketing

Market Segmentation

Coca Cola could segregate I’s target market for it’s Sports drink range Based on age, sex & profession& demography during the Olympic promotion.

Marketing Strategy

This would involve Coca Cola to develop a marketing strategy to become more popular among the consumers of more than 200 countries as Olympic is a global event .Hence a global marketing message has to be developed in order to focus on attracting new consumers to the existing market share .

E.G -Developing Advertisements using World Famous athletes who have a global following.

D) Cost of Marketing for Being an Official Sponsor of London 2012

Cost of billboards, banners, posters used to create brand awareness.

Cost of gifts, vouchers, discount offers in relation to the games.

Cost of providing refreshments to athletes & other officials.

Cost of recycling bins used for the purpose of recycling rubbish

Cost of additional marketing staff to carry out the sponsorship events.

Cost of print & other electronic media advertising.

Benefits of Becoming an Official Sponsor

Growth in sales revenue & profitability in local & international markets.

Increase in the market share by individual product categories of Coca cola

Positive image created by initiating towards promoting the green initiative & healthy lifestyles.

Improved relationships with regulatory authorities.

Higher level of brand awareness

Competitive advantage over rival non alcoholic beverage manufacturer

Analysis of Task 2

PEST Analysis

The macro environmental factors that would influence marketing decisions of the company would be discussed under the PEST Analysis

Political Environment

The government may ban use of children in the advertising campaign for the Olympic Games & further certain advertisements may not be permitted & also there can be the possibility of the government handing over the official sponsorship to arrival firm which could affect the planned marketing activities of Coca Cola.

Economic Environment

Changes in the economic conditions such as reduction in interest rates reduction in taxes & favorable exchange rates may allow company to carryout there marketing campaign as planed without any uncertainty & deriving maximum benefits.

Socio Cultural Environment

Social Perception among certain people with regard to Coca Cola Products can adversely impact advertising as it is perceived as unhealthy by several quarters of the general public across the globe.

Further in conservative cultures such as in India & Sri Lanka negative perception of western products & ads may prompt buyer boycott which can be taken advantageous for industry rivals.

Technological Environment

With the advent of new technology many new advertising mediums have opened up for firms such as Coca Cola ,Development of social networks such as facebook & twitter & the accessibility of internet as a cheaper medium of advertising too would have to be considered in determining marketing campaign.

Micro Environmental Factors

Suppliers

Any negative information with regard to the supply of raw material for the Coca Cola Company may affect the marketing of Coca Cola marketing across the globe .

Employees

Any negative reaction by the Coca Cola employees (Strike ) can be difficult for the firm to carry out its marketing campaign.

Competitors

Competitors might be tempted to attack Coca Cola & may raise issues over their appointment as the official sponsor of the Olympic Games which can create a negative perception .(Possibly Anti competitive Tactics)

Senior Management

A change in the senior management may affect the marketing campaign adversely; however on the other hand the introduction of a top industry personality to the board may favorably affect the marketing for a huge event as the Olympic Games.

Following criteria can be used by Coca Cola to carry out segmentation for two of its main products in two different markets.

Two Products are identified as Coke & Sprite and two markets are selected as UK & India

The company can use behavioral segmentation where the customers are divided based on the way they respond to & know of a product

Under the above base following criteria are listed

Usage -A high level of usage can be identified among Young consumers for both the products in the above mentioned markets .This is between the age group of 18-40 .this can be categorized as a group of heavy users of the brand.

Type of User- Most of the Soft drinks users have certain occasions to consume Coke & Sprite ,Either it can be on a holiday Trip, Sports event or at a religious festival such as Divali or Christmas .Hence Both products can be positioned as beverages for Occasions .

Geographical Segmentation can be used to develop special marketing strategies

Respecting local culture & values in UK & India for Coke & Sprite.

E.G:-Asian Region, European

Demographic Segmentation can be used to develop customer groups based on the income levels, age & gender In the particular markets for both Coke & Sprite.

Factors that Influence the targeting strategy

No of people estimated to attend the Olympic games

Availability of rival products at Games Village.

Introduction of a new product

Prices of Individual products to Consumers

Availability of media to carry out promotions

Buyer behavior may affect marketing activities of an organization & may even go to the extent of branding of products if the purchase involves a brand of an official sponsor

For example buyers may refuse to buy sports shoes produced by Nike as there is a wide spread speculation of the use of child labor in the outsourced destinations such as India & Bangladesh where the shoes are manufactured .Hence any promotion may create negative perception among certain customers which may lead to a competitive disadvantage for Nike .Hence marketing activity should be planned to counter such perception.

Another example for buyer behavior affecting branding of products can be seen is where hospitality industry is concerned since a event in the nature of Olympic Games would attract a significant number of people across the globe to London. An official hospitality partner could use its official status to market the product & services it markets especially during the Olympic Games season

Analysis of Task 3

i) Olympic Games can be a great opportunity for businesses to develop products & services especially for an official sponsor such as Coca Cola it would be highly advantageous when compared with other companies unofficially associating with the games.

From the perspective of Coca Cola it would have a significant degree of demand for marketing from various promotional mediums .Thus it will enable to create a high level of brand awareness among consumers & attract new customers .Thus it will Improve Profitability & develop market share further & also allow easier access to new market segments when compared to unofficial partners to the event.

Further it will allow poor performing brands to be relaunched, incentive schemes to come into operation in order to create brand loyalty towards its products which ultimately would lead to sustain competitive advantage over rivals.

Hence the above factors can be explained as to why an event such as the Olympic Games can led to sustainable competitive advantage.

II) A distribution network plays a vital role in providing customer with a high level of convenience & is how the product is moved towards the end consumer.

The distribution should be up to the mark to facilitate customer convenience in an event such as the Olympic Games.

Ordering of materials based on the demand & if required hire out new material suppliers

Increase capacity in bottling plants in view of additional demand .

Improve storage faculties around the games village & employ more delivery vehicles

Increase the number of retail outlets around the games village. (With the help of Wholesale dealers.)

Connect with suppliers, wholesalers & retailers through an extranet facility.

Introduce mobile outlets -(vans & bicycles)

iii) A price of a product is normally set to achieve organizational objectives & also to drive marketing and a key element of the marketing mix.

Hence different set of pricing mechanisms can be used.

When setting a price the company should look into whether the financial objectives of the company is achieved .Since price is the revenue generating mechanism of the marketing mix.

Further if the company wants to achieve a marketing objective of attracting new customers or increasing sales volume to improve market share penetration pricing methodology is used .as the price will be set lower initially which would be even lower than the market price.

If an organization decides to capture the consumer surplus in the market a high price will be offered to the product initially to drive demand at the initial stage of the product life cycle which is identified as price skimming .which mostly occurs in technological based products targeting the high end consumers .

Promotion is one of the key elements of the marketing mix which will involve Advertising, Personnel Selling, and Public Relations & Sales Promotion.

For Example if Coca Cola wants to achieve the marketing objective of increasing market share of its Coke range it can carry out the following promotional mix.

Advertising – Print ads, billboards, television & radio Commercials highlighting the Coke Brand

Sales Promotion – Company can issue discount Coupons ,Draws ,Exhibitions ,Free Issues ,product sampling

Personnel Selling- Training Sales Reps of Coke, Sales meetings, E-marketing ,Sales meetings can be used to help persuade a person to purchase coke .

Public Relations -This will involve stimulation of favorable information regarding Coke through favorable presentation over media through newspaper or magazine article, charitable contributions, speeches, seminars, TV & radio presentations.

Iv) Analysis of the Extended Marketing Mix

The Extended Marketing Mix involves 3 more additional factors in addition to the 4P’s namely People, Process & Physical Evidence.

Product Product will involve tangible products which can be mass produced such as motor vehicles or cell phones or even intangibles such as tourism & catering .each product will have its own life cycle & in order to maintain competitiveness even at the latter stages of the life cycle product differentiation strategies need to be adopted.

E.G:-Coca Cola introducing different Varity of sizes to Coca Cola & adding different Flavors to the Coke Range (Lime, Lemon, Raspberry)

Price The amount that customer pays for the product pricing will be influenced by internal manufacturing costs, market conditions, marketing competitions (which involves competitor products & Prices.)

E.G-If Pepsi Coca cola reduces its prices Coke may have to follow suit as the industry is price sensitive.

Place This reflects the location from which the product can be purchased .Basically reflects the distribution channel of the product .This may include the physical store or even a virtual store within the internet.

Promotion Promotion would involve four elements which are Advertising, Personnel Selling ,Public Relations & sales Promotion .Represents all the communications that a marketer may use in the market place .(A Detail Explanation is available in the answer to the earlier question)

People This involves people who are consumers of the product .this will mainly involve demographic segmentation of a market.(Based on Age ,Gender ,Interests ,Income)

Process This is Similar to the place Aspect of the original marketing mix; this demonstrates the procedure from which the product will move from the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer & to the end customer.(In Relation to Coke)

Physical Evidence The marketing strategy should be clearly evident & efficiently communicated through to the end consumer. Coca Cola is very clear in its marketing messages communicated through various forms of media.

Analysis of Task 4

Suggestion of a Marketing Mix for the Asian Region of Coke

Product Due to the demographic changes that takes place in this market due to higher economic growth and improvement in disposal incomes people are more inclined to consume beverages such as Coke & hence many firms in the industry are trying establishing themselves & in order to remain competitive Coke would have to implement product differentiation strategies.

Price In territories such as India & China, Japan, Malaysia Coke could use a price skimming strategy while in territories such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal caprice penetration strategy is appropriate

Place In the case of many Asian region nations it would be important to involve retailing in the distribution channel .

Promotion Promotion for coke can be carried out through Advertising, Personnel Selling, and Public relations & Sales Promotion

Suggestion of a marketing mix for European Region

Product Due to the demographic changes that takes place in this market due to lower economic growth and drop in disposal incomes people are more inclined to reduce consume beverages such as Coke hence severe competition would arise between firms in the industries hence in order to remain competitive firms have to differentiate its products.

Price Due to the demographic changes that takes place in this market due to lower economic growth and drop in disposal incomes people are more inclined to reduce expenditure on beverages such as Coke .Hence it is appropriate to carry out a price skimming strategy .

Place There should be an involvement of major shopping malls of Tesco, Wall Mart to enable the company improve distribution that would provide customer convenience along with wholesales & retail outlets.

Promotion Promotion for coke can be carried out through Advertising ,Personnel Selling, Public relations & Sales Promotion

II) There are several differences in the case of marketing products & services to organizations than to customers

In the case of marketing products or services to Organizations a higher volume or value would be traded between the different parties when compared with marketing to consumers.

The transaction cost would be much higher when products are sold to organizations as against marketing to individuals.

The time taken to undertake a transaction may be higher in the case of a corporate customer as against an individual consumer.

Further the bargaining power of organizations may be higher when compared with an individual customer.

iii) International marketing differs from domestic marketing due to several reasons.

International marketing offers the opportunity to cater towards a larger audience hence with reference to the sponsoring of London 2012 Games a much broader campaign of international marketing when compared with domestic marketing.

International marketing would enable Coca Cola to significantly improve its brand Value in other territories of the world as & today international marketing has become cheaper due to the availability of the internet.

A global brand should always be good in marketing its brand globally and would involve a difference as demographic factors vary from territory to territory.

Conclusion

The above report discussed in detail the critical aspects of the marketing campaign are highlighted I order to ensure that Coca Cola company will be prepared to market their brands to the world audience that would attend the Olympic Games & also would tune in through electronic media such as the television or the Internet.

In the light of heavy competition in this particular industry it is important that Coca Cola company takes this as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage over it’s rivals by Carrying out an effective marketing campaign that would allow Coca cola to develop it’s brand value & further enhance it’s brand image among the consumers by delivering customer satisfaction through effective marketing campaign